Meal planning with a purpose

My husband and I have decided to try eating low carb again (or at least he has — I might eat high carb lunches to avoid becoming a perpetually hangry monster). But changing our diet means looking at our meals in a new way, without sides of bread, rice, and starchy vegetables to fill us up.

So today I pulled out my favorite cookbooks to pick out some new side dishes (and a few mains that called to me!) that are mostly low carb.

It’s fun to look through recipes with a new goal in mind — foods that previously looked uninteresting or that I had just overlooked suddenly stood out as appealing choices. It also cut down on the overwhelming feeling I always seem to get when I’m trying to choose a new recipe to try.

If you’re curious, here are the dishes that made the list:

  • Aubergine-wrapped ricotta gnocchi
  • French beans, mangetout, and hazelnuts
  • Broccolini with tofu
  • Chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic
  • Parsnip and pumpkin mash (but I’ll use celeriac and butternut squash)
  • Burnt green onion dip with kale
  • Mixed Chinese vegetables
  • Whole roasted celery root
  • Zucchini and manouri fritters
  • Beef brisket croquettes with Asian coleslaw
  • Five-spiced tofu, steamed eggplants, and cardamom passata
  • Kohlrabi salad
  • Fried tomatoes with garlic
  • Sabih
  • Turkey and courgette burgers

What do you think? If you have any favorite low carb side dishes, please share! (Just no cauliflower … it smells and tastes rotten to me.)